HCM CITY — Business representatives have urged commercial banks to revise loan policies and simplify loan procedures to help them pursue investment opportunities.

Speaking at a seminar held on May 23 in Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu Province, representatives of many firms agreed that complicated loan policies and procedures had caused them to lose many investment opportunities.

The State Bank of Việt Nam’s Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu branch organised the seminar to connect banks and firms in the province.

The companies said that mortgage assets needed for loan applications posed a significant challenge for them. Many firms with multiple businesses have already had to use mortgage assets to run their overall businesses, they said.

Banks should allow firms to use business contracts as mortgages to apply for a loan, provide start-ups with more preferential loan policies, and revise existing policies that might no longer be relevant with reality, they recommended.

Banks should also be more flexible when it comes to unsecured loans and have a stable interest rate for both short-term and long-term loans.

Nguyễn Lợi, director of the State Bank of Việt Nam’s Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu branch, said the bank would collaborate with relevant agencies to launch more programmes, with an aim to enhance connections between banks and business firms.

Credit institutions in the area said they had sufficient resources to support individual clients and firms that show potential and have effective business plans.

The SBV will evaluate feedback from business firms and offer necessary support to help firms thrive.

In July last year, the bank sector in the province proposed solutions to help business firms deal with difficulties.

Some programmes included 0.5 per cent deduction in short-term interest rates, and preferential loan policies for firms in the organic, high-tech agricultural sector, among others.

As of April 2018, the total outstanding loans for the economic sector had reached nearly VNĐ62 trillion, up 5.9 per cent compared to the beginning of the year, and up 17.61 per cent year on year.

Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu continues to have stable capital growth, ensuring economic development. — VNS